Chapter 6

“Angelus remained unmoved.

Never in his wildest imagination did he think such words would come out of Bunny’s mouth.

Bunny, that Bunny.

Even if he were to die immediately, Bunny would leave a will asking to be buried in the family cemetery, reserved exclusively for the direct descendants of the Kredel lineage.

Was he saying he wanted to leave the castle now?

Did he want to leave Kredel?

That couldn’t be.

‘Yes, that’s impossible.’

Was he saying he wanted to go out here, to some unknown place?

With nowhere to go but the landfill, referred to as the land of criminals, outside the castle.

Perhaps his outburst was due to being caught practicing forbidden alchemy, but it couldn’t be as bad as going back to the landfill.

‘What kind of scheme is this?’

Angelus thought so.

Once he concluded that Bunny’s words couldn’t be sincere, only one conclusion remained.

‘Does she think that by saying that, I’ll tell her not to go?’

What a foolish notion.

It’s not as if she couldn’t be held back.

Such tactics only work on someone who has a little bit of goodwill towards you.

Ironically, he was suppressing the urge to immediately kick Bunny out of Ophelia’s room!

How foolish he was; not even a laugh escaped him.

“Are you asking for leaving the Kredel family as your reward?”

“Yes.”

“Please, I hope you’ll agree to that.”

In a voice as cold as the winter wind, there was not a hint of the usual warmth.

Cutting through it all, it felt like a sharp knife.

As if unwilling to give any room at all.

But instead of shouting, questioning how Bunny could say such things, Bunny simply showed a face that seemed more at ease.

‘Smile?’

A faint lift at the corners of her mouth.

A breath that seemed relieved.

It banished in an instant, but Angelus clearly saw her smile.

“I’m grateful that you said that.”

Grateful?

“But the decision-making power lies with the Grand Duke, so I would like to inform him of the situation right away.”

“….”

Strangely, the words sounded genuinely sincere.

“I understand that you have permission.”

Without any hesitation, Doah stood up and passed by Angelus.

Her steps were quite brisk.

As if she didn’t want to be in the same space for even a moment.

Angelus stayed in his place until Doah left the room, not moving an inch until the door closed with a loud thud.

How long could he keep up this obvious, disgusting act?

Maybe she’ll be back soon.

Regretting every step, pleading that it wasn’t sincere, and begging not to be expelled.

He was sure of it, so he waited.

Waited for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and then 1 hour.

Surely, she wouldn’t come back until the sun set.

Angelus clenched the overheated pocket watch as if he would break it.

The aide, who had been anxiously waiting in front of the door for quite some time, cautiously knocked.

“Young Master, pardon the intrusion, but we can no longer delay the next schedule.”

“…Go now.”

He pushed the heated pocket watch into the inner pocket and stood up.

It was the first moment his meticulously planned schedule, filled without a single minute of leeway, became distorted.

* * *

‘At this time, he should be in the office.’

Bunny already had a complete understanding of the layout of the main palace.

Despite never having been to the main palace before.

It was thanks to a few times she had sneaked in secretly.

Thinking about the Grand Duke’s office, a sense of direction, almost as if there were street view images loaded in her mind, came to her.

‘It’s fascinating…’

Doah secretly admired.

In her past life, she was notoriously bad with directions.

‘Come to think of it, Bunny found the secret passage in the main palace when she was eight.’

If Bunny had grown up normally, she might have used that talent in a more upright way. Instead, she used it for theft.

With a sense of pity, Doah moved her steps.

“Lady!”

“Ah, Mi-Milady!”

She intended to move quietly.

But those who noticed Doah walking briskly were shocked.

The young maid nearby ran over to stop her.

“Lady, you shouldn’t wander around with an improper attire! The wind is still chilly…”

Instead of answering, Doah quickly passed by her, giving a bright and mischievous smile.

“Oh.”

The maid made a gasping sound and stopped in place, frozen as if something had malfunctioned.

Doah belatedly remembered.

‘Come to think of it, Ophelia’s appearance was quite famous.’

Ophelia’s mother, a beauty in the social circles, had a name that resonated throughout the empire.

Ophelia, who resembled her mother, had been the subject of rumors since her birth.

Loved as if she were a baby angel descended from heaven.

“The Princess of Peace.” She was called that.

Even Bunny, who grew up in the garbage dump, had heard of her fame.

‘To be adopted for resembling Ophelia so much…’

Bunny’s eyes held a vivid and sharp red light, sparkling like jewels.

Her fair skin and rosy cheeks had a peachy tint, and her eyes, uplifted in a peach blossom shape, exuded an aura of peach blossoms.

Even when standing still, she emitted an innocent charm beyond her young age.

With just a cursory glance, one could guess that Bunny had grown up beautifully enough to be widely known in the empire.

‘Whether it’s a good thing or not.’

In the modern world, she could have been a celebrity.

However, in a world where human rights were shattered, having such a face as a humble person would only attract trouble.

Lost in her thoughts, she realized she had reached a black door adorned with silver.

There were no guard knights guarding the entrance to the office. After all, there was no need for the hero who unified the empire with a single sword, Duke Kredel, to have any protection.

Creak―

“Come in.”

Permission was granted immediately.

Perhaps, the other person didn’t know that Bunny was coming.

Before he could notice her, Doah slyly opened the door and entered.

Bunny couldn’t afford to be barred from entering the office just because someone found her appearance unpleasant.

“Regarding the matter.”

Duke Kredel, with half-closed eyes fixed on the documents, spoke briefly.

It seemed like he still considered her as an assistant.

But that misconception was short-lived.

“Why are you here?”

Even after uttering those words, his eyes remained fixed on the documents.

Was it the sound of footsteps? Or was it the sound of breathing? Some kind of presence?

It was impossible to determine how he knew without any visible clues.

However, even after realizing that Bunny was the one who entered after opening the door, there was no indication of him trying to expel her.

That was somewhat fortunate.

If he were the Duke, he might have sent her away even after saying, “I clearly told her to live as if she were dead,” and returned her to the tower.

“I heard that you allowed me allowed to stay in the palace.”

While saying this, Doah couldn’t help but be suspicious.

She still couldn’t believe it.

Hadn’t he witnessed her cursing his daughter with dark magic right in front of him?

Even if he had seen it directly, how could he decide to bring Bunny into the palace as a fake lady?

What other tricks could he be up to?

Was he trying to live up to the nickname, ‘Blue Moon,’ now?

If so, it was truly an unnecessary nicety.

“So.”

The Duke raised his pen and replied, scribbling his signature on the documents.

“I appreciate the offer but will decline.”

As Doah spoke, the smoothly rolling pen suddenly snapped.

It wasn’t a pen made of wood; it was finely crafted metal.

To think that such delicately worked metal could break with just a little force.

As Doah doubted her eyes, the Duke finally raised his gaze and stared at her intently.

Duke Kredel, the guardian who achieved eternal peace in the north and the master of Blue moon.

Pietro Kredel.

He wore thin, round silver-rimmed glasses, and his long hair was loosely braided to one side.

At first glance, he seemed like a scholar who had spent his life holding only a pen.

Of course, if you lowered your gaze a bit from his delicately carved facial features, which seemed to be crafted from ice, you would immediately withdraw that judgment.

Shoulders like mountain peaks and a massive build that couldn’t be hidden even under layers of clothes.

That physique was the possession of a strategist who personally led the army at the forefront, a hero who led every war to victory.

“What did you just say?”

He straightened up in his chair.

Then, he pulled down the glasses hanging on the tip of his nose and placed them on the desk.

With that, his sharp eyes, concealed behind the glasses, were revealed.

‘A hero’s gaze, indeed.’

Unfortunate or fortunate, which was it?

There was no anticipated twist.

Bunny was brought here, and because he seemed so indifferent, Doah wondered if his narrow perspective had already led to an overestimation due to image-making.

Inspecting him closely with her own eyes, his physiognomy perfectly matched the two characters of his nickname ‘Blue Moon.’

Excessively so.

His long, sharp eyes overwhelmed people, his nose was richly prominent, and his lips were as red and full as flower petals.

Every bone, including his face, was perfectly balanced, forming a symmetrical structure.

Despite having lived a lifetime on the battlefield, his skin was clear and transparent, resembling the moon god guarding justice.

This was a rare blessing from the heavens, the land of his birth was fortunate, and his innate character was good, promising a long life.

To have a good character, it’s unbelievable.

‘Well, just because he’s a hero for everyone doesn’t mean he can be a hero for all.’

That thought was frightening.

‘Ah.’

Doah belatedly realized when their eyes met precisely.

His eyes had the same color as her sons, but instead of containing a blue hue and radiance, they were like a riverbed dried up in a severe drought, leaving not a single stream of water.

His eyes reflect a person’s mind.

Considering his heroic tale, those eyes must have once shone with a brilliant light.

Whatever had happened, now it was like ashes scattered in the wind after burning everything down.

It felt strangely perplexing how he managed to live with that mindset.

“I definitely asked you.”

Distracted by his gaze, Doah, who was captivated by his eyes, could only give a proper answer after Pietro asked twice.

“I want to make another proposal.”

“Another proposal?”

“Since the curse on Lady Ophelia has been transferred to my body, I believe there’s no need for me to stay here any longer.”

Doah knew better than anyone how to deal with people like him.

Simply do the opposite of what Bunny had been doing.

“Please send me back to the garbage dump.”

She deliberately kept her words short, not prolonging the conversation with unnecessary words.

“Isn’t it because Lady Ophelia can’t return to Kredel Territory due to me?”

The demand was clear, maintaining boundaries.

And she would certainly keep the words she uttered.

“To Kredel Castle, where you can be with Lady Ophelia forever. I will disappear before your eyes, my lord.”

Doah added a picturesque smile to her lips.

“Forever.”